PHOENIX (Feb. 18, 2025) – The Maricopa County Special Health Care District Board of Directors has unanimously voted to appoint Barbara Rodriguez Mundell to fill a vacancy on the board that oversees Valleywise Health, Arizona’s only public teaching hospital and safety net system of care.
Mundell, a third generation Arizonan who served as Presiding Judge of Maricopa County Superior Court from 2005 to 2010, will fill the seat vacated by Kate Brophy McGee, elected in November 2024 to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
“Judge Mundell is an exceptional leader, and we are excited to welcome her to the Board,” said Virginia L. Korte, Board Chairman.
“Having someone with Judge Mundell’s experience and expertise in this role is crucial,” said Steve Purves, Valleywise Health President and CEO.
In applying for the position, Mundell, who grew up in South Phoenix, noted that generations of her family have benefited from care provided by Valleywise Health, “beginning with my great grandmother who was treated there when the hospital was located at 35th Avenue and Durango.”
As presiding judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court mental health department, she also oversaw the mental health hearings that determine whether individuals receive involuntary treatment at one of Valleywise Health’s three behavioral health hospitals.
“I have ties to these excellent medical facilities, and it will be an honor and a privilege to give my time and efforts to their mission, as well as to represent my community,” Mundell said.
Mundell is the first female and first Hispanic to serve as presiding judge of Maricopa County. In that role, she oversaw a department with a $250 million budget and the work of approximately 95 judges, 58 commissioners, more than 4,000 staff members, 25 justice courts and 23 municipal courts. She retired in 2010.
Prior to that appointment, Judge Mundell was the Associate Presiding Judge of the Superior Court in Maricopa County (2003-2005) and the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court Probate and Mental Health department (2000-2004). She also served as the Associate Presiding Judge of the Superior Juvenile Court department (1997-1998).
She was initially appointed to the Superior Court of Arizona bench in 1989. In her tenure as a judge, she also served on Civil, Juvenile, Family Court, Criminal, and Probate assignments. Prior to her appointment as a judge, she was with the juvenile department as a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner. As an attorney, she was in private practice, specializing in Workers’ Compensation and Social Security cases. Judge Mundell was admitted to practice in Arizona in 1982, having graduated from Arizona State University earning her B.A. and J.D. degrees.
About Valleywise Health
With locations throughout Maricopa County, one of the country’s fastest growing metro areas, Valleywise Health has a proud 147-year tradition of providing exceptional care, without exception, every patient, every time. Today, the health system includes one of the nation’s top public teaching hospitals, a world-renowned burn center and Arizona’s largest HIV primary care center. From a new state-of-the-art acute care hospital, including the Diane & Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center and Level I Trauma, to three behavioral health hospitals and 11 community health centers, Valleywise Health is here for every member of the community. To learn more, please visit ValleywiseHealth.org